For the new issue of SLEEK, out now, we asked CGI and animation artist Sam Aldridge of Berlin creative studio Selam X to make us a video that encapsulated our spring theme: glamour. Our suggestions were vague: reflective surfaces, glitter and fun house mirrors that evoke the ways in which artists and creatives manipulate and re-imagine glamour today. The result was the shell-pink, shimmering CGI world of our dreams, studded with twinkling diamonds and silvery surfaces. Inspired by Juno Calypso’s self-portraits—situated in kitsch, mirrored honeymoon suites—the video perfectly introduces our spring edition, covered by Victoria Sin and lensed by Nhu Xuan Hua.
We asked Sam, who is originally from England and currently located in Paris, to send us a video of the CGI process and to answer a few short questions about this practice. Sam originally studied Video Game Design, and Interaction and Moving Image at the London College of Communication: University of the Arts and has been a member of Selam X since January 2019. He specialises in software such as Cinema4d, After Effects, Zbrush, Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Read his responses below:
Examples of Sam's work in progress.
What were your key inspirations for the video?
Juno Calpyso’s self-portraits, washed out pallets and intergalactic cloudy beaches.
How would you describe your practice and aesthetic in general?
My body of work is a creative mixed bag of technical, conceptual and playful elements.It often strikes a balance between chaotic and minimal, whilst embodying SELAM X’s distorted vision of beauty.
List five things that you continue to turn to for inspiration?
Video games, dystopian futures, pan Asia, William Morris and ballet (and just being a nerd).
What’s ‘glamour’ for you?
Quoting Coco Chanel “before leaving the house, a lady should look in the mirror and remove one accessory,” and putting one extra ring on.
See the full process video below: